


I Horse You

by Burgie



Category: Star Stable Online
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-31
Updated: 2018-07-31
Packaged: 2019-06-19 03:36:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,708
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15501453
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Burgie/pseuds/Burgie
Summary: Lisa finally decides to pop the question. Rebecca belongs to Centeris2.





	I Horse You

Rebecca looked up from her current work (an in-depth analysis of Evergray's travel diaries in which the Followers were attempting the difficult task of separating truth from fiction) when the door to the Bangalow opened, revealing a harried-looking Lisa.

"Oh, hi, Lisa," said Rebecca, taking in Lisa's messy hair and flushed face.

"You're Louisa's best friend, d'you know if she has any rings?" asked Lisa. Rebecca blinked. Of all the things Lisa could have asked her, that was a new one.

"If she had them, don't you think that you would've seen them by now?" asked Rebecca. "You're her girlfriend, after all."

"You'd think so but no," said Lisa. "I don't exactly make a habit of going through her stuff, I respect her privacy."

"You're a good girlfriend," said Rebecca.

"Thanks," said Lisa. "But anyway, if she does have jewellery, she wouldn't have been wearing it lately since all she does is train horses and that's a bit dangerous to wear jewellery when you're doing that."

 

"Right, that makes sense," said Rebecca, nodding. "Are you going to go with the classic diamond or put some sapphires and rubies in there?" At least, she assumed that was the reason for Lisa asking about rings.

"Would sapphires and emeralds and rubies be too cheesy?" asked Lisa, rubbing the back of her head. At least Rebecca had caught on fairly quickly.

"Not at all," said Rebecca. "Especially not when it's you. As for rings, though, I don't make a habit of going through her things either. You could ask her father."

"Yeah, that'd look great," said Lisa with a laugh. "Hey, Mr Mcburg, does your daughter have any rings? Why? Oh, no reason, I'm just thinking of proposing to her oh and by the way do you mind if I marry your daughter?"

"Hmm, you're right, that does sound bad," said Rebecca. "But I'm sure you'll think of something. Maybe I'll ask her tomorrow or next time I see her."

"Yeah, good idea," said Lisa, nodding. "But while we're here, are there any horses that she's had her eye on lately?"

"The fleabitten Connie," said Rebecca without hesitation. "But if you're looking for a horse to propose with, I know that she loves the fluffy little Haflingers. They're selling one here in Dundull, actually, and it's red, like your hair."

"Okay," said Lisa, nodding. "Thanks, I'll buy it after I buy the ring. Since, y'know, I don't exactly have a stable to keep it in. Think she'd notice if there was suddenly a new horse in her paddock?"

"Definitely," said Rebecca. "She might forget horses sometimes, but she'd definitely notice a new one. She noticed Midnight when he was there, and he looks exactly the same as one of her horses, Darkwarrior."

"Damn," said Lisa, swallowing. "Alright, thanks for the advice."

"No problem," said Rebecca. "Oh and by the way, do you know what you're going to say?"

"There's a speech involved?" Lisa asked, paling. Rebecca laughed.

"You don't watch too many romance movies, do you?" asked Rebecca. "Or read romance novels?" Lisa shook her head.

"I'm kinda scared to look up proposals too, just in case someone looks at my internet history," said Lisa. "I've only told Starshine before you, and I've sworn him to secrecy."

"Don't worry, I'll keep it a secret too," said Rebecca. "My lips are sealed."

"Thanks," said Lisa. "But... do I need a speech? I'm not the best with expressing myself in speeches. I could write another song for her, or perform one of the ones I've already written."

"If you're not too nervous," said Rebecca. "It would be really romantic, though."

"I think I'll just stick with the ring and horse," said Lisa, running her fingers through her hair. "Just... call me when you've got her ring size?"

"Will do," said Rebecca, nodding with a smile. "But first, a speech."

Rebecca moved the book and her notes to the side, then picked up her pen and pulled a fresh sheet of paper over in front of her. Lisa walked over to pull up a seat beside her, leaning in to help Rebecca brainstorm. They both kept their eyes on the window, though, just in case a familiar horse should pull up in front of the cottage.

The next day, Rebecca and Lisa met again in the Bangalow.

"So, did you find it out?" asked Lisa. Rebecca nodded, proudly placing a signet ring on the table.

"As it turns out, she needs it repaired," said Rebecca. "It's a little bent but once it's bent back into shape, it'll be the right size. She said that she broke it doing stable chores and that incident alone convinced her to never wear jewellery while working again."

"Good thing it just got a little bent and didn't tear her finger off," said Lisa, shuddering. But she picked up the ring, her hand trembling slightly as she looked down at the golden band of metal. A pale blue sapphire glimmered in one of the two hearts.

"We ended up talking about other jewellery, too," said Rebecca. "She hates rose gold, by the way, but she likes golden rings."

"Right," said Lisa, her mouth suddenly dry. "I really hope she didn't catch on to what I'm planning."

"For someone who never wears it, she loves her jewellery," said Rebecca. Lisa smiled.

"At least she'll be easy to shop for at birthdays and Christmas," said Lisa. "I mean, aside from the typical birthday horse." Rebecca snorted.

"True," said Rebecca. "Good luck ring shopping, I'm sure you'll find the perfect thing. And you don't need to worry about Louisa, I have it on good authority that she's training today. Like she is every other day."

"Great," said Lisa. "I'll head into town now and... hopefully come home with a ring."

"Just let me know when you're planning on proposing," said Rebecca. "I'll make sure that this place is cleared out and that she's here."

"Thanks," said Lisa, grinning. "Again. You've been amazing this whole time, no wonder Louisa chose you as her best friend." Rebecca smiled.

It took a few days for the ring to be made, days in which Lisa either fretted or hyped herself up. This was going to be amazing, this was going to make her so happy, but oh god what if it went wrong and Louisa didn't want to get married but she'd been so happy when the law had passed back home but...

"Please calm down," said Starshine. "Your thoughts are putting me in a spin."

"Sorry," said Lisa, raking her fingers through her hair again. There was a reason it always looked a right mess, after all. "I'm just really, really nervous."

"She loves you," said Starshine. "It'll be fine."

"But what if it's not?" asked Lisa, her hands shaking. "The movies Rebecca showed me never showed how nerve-wracking it was."

"Trust me, proposing is a very nerve-wracking event," said Starshine. "Not that I know from experience, of course, but I have been told about it. And yet, the end result is always worth it."

"I guess you're right," said Lisa. "I guess... I just need to get all of these worries out of my head."

"Perhaps a ride would do the trick?" asked Starshine. "A ride through the countryside is always the cure for what ails you." Lisa smiled.

"You're right," said Lisa, climbing up into Starshine's saddle. "You're always right. Let's go, boy."

And, as they raced across the Forgotten Fields (with no Dark Core in sight this time, thankfully), Lisa felt her anxiety begin to ebb away. It helped that she needed to concentrate on holding on, and on where they were going. All she could feel was the wind through her hair and in her face, the steady gait of Starshine, and the tang of the salty air from the sea.

At last, Lisa and Starshine pulled up on the beach, staring out at the ocean.

"It's so beautiful, for something that harbours such great evil," said Lisa.

"It truly is," said Starshine. "I wonder if you could use that in a song."

"Maybe," said Lisa. "I dunno if it'd fit my brand, though." Starshine snorted.

"I didn't say you had to release it to the public," said Starshine.

"I guess," said Lisa, playing with his mane. She let out a sigh. "I'm still nervous but... I feel better. Not like I'm going to throw up."

"That's definitely progress," said Starshine. "I told you a good ride could cure everything."

"Yeah, you did," said Lisa, smiling and petting his neck. "You're a clever boy." Starshine nickered.

The day finally came, and Lisa felt like she was sweating buckets as she made her way to Dundull stables in the early hours of the morning. Fortunately, the woman who sold the horses was already there, mug of coffee in hands. She smiled when she saw Lisa approaching.

"An early riser," said the woman, rising from her seat. She set her mug on the table and walked over to greet Lisa.

"Yeah," said Lisa, all-too-aware of the ring box in her pocket. "I'm um... here to buy a horse."

"Well, you came to the right place," said the woman with a chuckle, raising her hand to gesture to the many horses around her. "Which one were you interested in? Perhaps this gorgeous fleabitten Connemara?"

"That one," said Lisa, pointing to the Haflinger. She'd already been here a few days earlier to make sure that she knew which horse to choose, and even now, it still looked gorgeously red.

"A good choice," said the woman, nodding. "Cold-tolerant and a popular choice for the Dundull natives."

"It's for my girlfriend," said Lisa. "Since, y'know, in Jorvik, we don't say 'I love you', we say-"

"I horse you," the woman finished, beaming. "I understand completely, many a person has bought a four-legged friend for their partner."

"Yeah," said Lisa with a nervous laugh. "So, uh, could I possibly have the papers with the horse and then I can have my girlfriend fill them out when she's picked out a name?"

“Of course," said the woman. She walked over to the Haflinger mare, slipping a bridle on and leading it over to Lisa. "Here's the horse, and I'll be back once I've got the papers for you."

Lisa waited, her heart pounding, staring at the beautiful horse and idly stroking her fluffy mane. She really was beautiful. Louisa would love her, she was sure.

"Here you go," said the woman, returning with the papers. "Good luck with whatever you've got planned."

"Thanks," said Lisa. "I guess I do look as nervous as a duck in a doona factory, huh?' The woman laughed.

"You do," said the woman. "But I'm sure that it'll turn out just fine." Lisa handed over the money, and the transaction was complete. Now, only the hard part remained.

Louisa was a little confused when she woke up to find a message from Rebecca asking her to meet at the Bangalow. She texted back to make sure and found that Rebecca had meant the text. Apparently, there was a meeting of some sort. So, grabbing Goldie and getting dressed in the burgundy Followers 'uniform', Louisa left the stables, arriving very shortly at the Bangalow. Midnightwarrior was the only horse there, so Louisa didn't even knock before she entered.

"Am I early?" asked Louisa, frowning in concern. "Or late?"

"You're right on time, actually," said Rebecca. "Just wait here, I need to grab something but I'll be back soon." She was smiling a lot as she left, which only served to further confuse Louisa. What was she up to?

Louisa sat down at the table, though, deciding to check her phone while she waited.

A few minutes later, there was a knock at the door. Louisa put her phone away and approached the door, wondering who it was and what they could want. She wished that she had better control over her Moon powers, then she might be able to see who it was in a vision.

There was a horse at the door. A beautiful Haflinger mare, a red-brown colour with a shimmering white mane.

"Hello there," said Louisa, petting the horse's soft mane. "You're a pretty one, aren't you?"

"Of course you'd notice the horse first," said a familiar voice with a chuckle, one that instantly made Louisa grin. Lisa gently squeezed past the horse to stand in front of her, looking as beautiful as ever. Maybe even more beautiful. Was that a touch of eyeliner?

"It's kind of hard to miss a big horse," said Louisa, laughing. "Is she mine?"

"Obviously," said Lisa. "You own every horse on this island by now. Go on, give her forelock a scratch, she loves that." She looked nervous for some reason, but Louisa put it down to the surprise, digging her fingers into the mare's soft, fluffy forelock. Her finger brushed something that wasn't fur, though, something cold and metal.

"What's this?" Louisa murmured, frowning as she felt around the foreign object and finally managed to pull it out of the horse's mane. It was a ring. Louisa gasped, stepping back as Lisa dropped to one knee in front of her.

"Louisa Mcburg," said Lisa, her hands trembling as she knelt there. "You've made my life so much better since coming into it. You saved my life, you helped me adjust to life on Jorvik again, you didn't freak out even when I had a meltdown and Aideen knows, I had plenty those first few months, you've just always been there for me. And I've never been able to repay you for that, which I still feel kind of bad about even though I shouldn't, you shouldn't need to pay someone back for rescuing you, but anyway. And I love you. I love you more than I ever thought possible. And I don't know if I can ever repay you for all that you've done for me but I'm going to try. I'm going to spend the rest of my life trying. But that isn't what I'm asking and dammit, I should've just stuck to Rebecca's notes." She laughed. "I'd love to be able to call you my wife though, if you'll have me. So, what do you say? Will you marry me?"

"We'll hyphenate our name to Mcpeters," said Louisa, already sliding the ring onto her finger. There was still a strand of white mane caught in the gem setting, but she didn't mind. There was a diamond in the centre, surrounded by rubies, emeralds, and sparkling sapphires. She couldn't stop staring at it, until she realised that she hadn't properly answered. Lisa was grinning, though, already knowing the answer. Louisa smiled down at her, feeling as though she could burst with joy. "So yes, I'll marry you."

"I'm glad," said Lisa, grinning fit to burst. Somehow, she managed to kiss her girlfriend- no, fiancee now- without either of them smashing their teeth together. But only for a moment before Louisa pulled away to look at her ring again, giddy with excitement.

"I'm engaged," said Louisa, her cheeks already beginning to hurt from grinning so much. "Is this why Bec was asking about jewellery the other day?"

"Yeah," said Lisa with a laugh. "I'm glad you didn't figure it out sooner, though, I wanted it to be a surprise."

"Well, consider me surprised," said Louisa with a laugh of her own. "I'm not even dressed appropriately." She looked down at her outfit, which suddenly seemed so unfitting.

"Hey, neither am I," said Lisa, referring to her t-shirt, jeans, and jacket. "But we can dress up if we have an engagement party. If you want one."

"If we have one, I want it to be intimate," said Louisa. "Maybe just us and the Followers. Or us and our fathers, and the rest of my family via Skype. If you're okay with that."

"Whatever you want," said Lisa, leaning in to kiss her again. Louisa wrapped her arms around her fiancee as she returned the kiss, suddenly wanting nothing else but to be close to her. At least the hard part was over now. They were engaged to be married, and both of them couldn't be happier.


End file.
